70gal Paludarium/Vivarium Build

[calivivarium1]

OKay, I know, still no pics.... but one day they will be here. Anyway, my excuse is that I was far too busy cleaning the aquarium, reading up on fish, trying to figure out a theme, and figuring out how to create the theme. Tank is clean, today I will re-silicone the braces and clamp them, I have decided that the tank will be a stream/river setup with a school of loaches from either India or Thailand, and there won't be any fauna (other than maybe some bugs) above the water line. Oh yeah, did I mention I wasted over an hour trying to find someone with Great Stuff Pond foam or black GE SCS 1200 in stock? Now... anyone have a gently used canister, inline heater (probably won't actually turn on except for in the winter), or T5-HO setup they want to part with?

 

[calivivarium1]

Here's my stand now that it is all finished. Right now I'm trying to figure out the best way to create tall pieces of landscape without using cut foam... I'd really like to build it all with great stuff but I am slightly concerned about using GS not sticking properly at what would be the left side of the tank. I want to have my filter outflow start higher than the rest of the water and fall down into the rest of the tank, like water from one pool to another in a flowing stream. It doesn't need to actually create alot of current though, I can do that with powerhead(s).

 

[calivivarium1]

Here is a rough sketch using Microsoft Paint:

Basically, I want the filter return to be on the left of the image and flow down into the rest of the tank. There will be a powerhead behind the raised area for current. The filter intake, which apparently on the Cobalt filter is a pump I can place in my aquarium due to the low water level, will be on the right side of the image. I plan to use some of Riparium Supply's hanging baskets on the right side of the image as opposed to the 3d background (made out of GS Pond and Waterfall) because I want the water area to widen out a bit, like a stream reaching a pond/wider section. Maybe I am trying to incorporate too much at this point...

My biggest concerns right now are: finding the right fish (I showed my wife the fish and she said "Ew, those? They are boring.." so I am rethinking Pearl Danios and Dwarf Chain Loaches) from the same area of the world and ensuring that I don't make a GS background too top heavy and have it collapse on me.

 

[calivivarium1]

Latest update: I think I have decided on my filter (Cobalt EXT) and lighting system (pair of Current Satellite Freshwater LED+). I also applied the silicone to the background and it has since cured. I am now only waiting on myself again: figuring out whether or not I will have the waterfall-esque feature on the left side or just create a "shoreline" on the back of the tank. I included a pic of the background as well as the supplies I will be using. I just noticed that part of the trim on the bottom of my tank is coming apart (probably has been for years...). I guess I'll have to silicone that and clamp it too.

 

[calivivarium1]

(Almost)Finished my background. My last can of Touch N Foam didn't work properly and now I have to stop by the store to pick up one final can to complete the background. Everything else went fairly smooth. I put the tank on its back outside to work on it. I used food grade plastic containers to build some height/depth to the left side of the tank. I uncapped the top container and will fill it with gravel to grow an emersed plant or two. The plant's roots will be kept wet because that will be the pump return. I used a total of 3 1/3 Touch N Foam containers, though if the last one hadn't malfunctioned the total of 4 would have been just perfect. It also took me 1 1/3 tubes of silicone to do the background. If I had put silicone on the right half and had more background there it would have taken me at least one more can of Touch N Foam (depending on how thick I wanted the background) and almost two full tubes of silicone. Friday I will silicone the background. I am thinking of using some sand near the waterfall feature and along some of the bottom portions. The rest will either be just black silicone or Eco Earth.

Nearly all my equipment came yesterday. I was stoked to try out my Current Satellite Freshwater LED Plus fixtures. They are pretty sweet, but unfortunately one of the fixtures came with a broken RF receiver. That was a bummer, however, I emailed Current and they are taking care of things. So far I am quite impressed with their warranty service. I am not (yet) impressed with the Cobalt E X T filter. It's an interesting idea, but some of the pieces feel cheap. Hopefully it runs like a charm and they will only feel a little cheap.

Here are some crappy pics (I apologize in advance for the nasty combination of poor photography skills, bad lighting on my porch at 2300hrs, and having to try and stand on other items to take a front picture while the tank was on a table):

 

[calivivarium1]

rogress so far: Current was good to their word and shipped me a brand new unit within one week from their receipt of my email about the RF antenna being broken. The new fixture seems to be working just as it should. I have the RF antennae on opposite ends of the so I can control the LED's separately.

I am a little disappointed with the Cobalt E-X-T filter pump, it is not as powerful as I hoped. Fortunately for me the filter was going to be overkill anyway on my tank, so between the filter and my plants I shouldn't have any issues keeping my water nice and clean.

After waiting 48-72hrs for my Touch N Foam to dry I silliconed around the edges (I had already siliconed the back of the tank) of the foam. I initially began to silicone the whole background but decided against it due to the numerous nooks/crannies which would make it nearly impossible to create a 100% sealed background anyway. I stuck some sand into the silicone on parts of the background and pressed Eco Earth into the silicone above the water line. Some of the Eco Earth was slightly damp even after drying in the hot sun and didn't stick as well as I wanted it to. I may go over a few spots with clear silicone/pressed Eco Earth again. I also painted the right side of the background black so the plants in my Riparium Supply planters will have a nice black background to highlight their colors.

I didn't quit sync everything right and I don't have the last bit of hardware (including some goodies from Hydrophyte!) and some plants (from him as well as a few other sources) are still MIA. So far I am happy with the look I have, if the plants start to take off I think I will be somewhat challenged in keeping the tank from looking artificially manicured and yet at the same time not looking like a wild jungle.

 

[jpappy789]

Looks good! Excited to see the riparium plants added.

 

[mellowvision]

From my experience, you're going to wish you had way less water in there. I'd lower the waterline by half at least.

 

[authmal]

Why do you say that, Mellow?

 

[mellowvision]

Why do you say that, Mellow?

because there are very few terrestrial plants that look right without more air space, and your viewing angle down is better when the water is lower. With less water you'll be able to grow more lush green moss and liverworts as well, where they'll be kept moist by the waterline without being too close to the lights. Many people agree that 1/3 or less water generally has the nicest sense of proportion in the tank.